Panasonic has introduced its new DIGA DMR-BR630V, a video recorder that supports VHS and Blu-ray. The new video recorder has an integrated 320GB hard drive, an HDMI connector, USB port, SD card slot and digital and analog tuner.

While the DIGA DMR-BR630V supports VHS, Panasonic also introduced three more models without VHS suport namely DIGA DMR-BW930, DIGA DMR-BW830 and DIGA DMR-BW730.

Panasonic has not yet disclosed the price of the DIGA DMR-BR630V.

Popularity: 3% [?]

It is expected that the new ASUS N10 netbook will be coming out after some photos of the N10 have been leaked on the web. The netbook does not carry the Eee brand, probably an attempt to introduce it as part of ASUS’ luxuxy division products.

The netbook’s casing will come in a more elegant, well-constructed and made from high quality plastic with a glossy finish. The N10 sports  an Intel Atom N270 processor, a 10.2-inch display with1024 x 768 resolution, Altec Lansing speakers, HDMI out, three USB 2.0 ports, VGA port and an SDHC slot. Other features include Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity,  a built-in webcam and fingerprint reader.

There are no words yet about the pricing and availability,  but it is  predicted  that the N10 will retail between $446 to $595.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Samsung has announced its 1.8-inch 120GB HDD, a credit card-sized 4200-rpm USB drive being referred to as SpinPoint N2. Enclosed in a glossy black chassis, the drive draws less than 1.4W and needs just 300mA from a 500mA USB port. Its power consumption is only one-fourth that of a 2.5″ drive and it has a read speed rated at 27MB/s and write speed at 23MB/s.

According to reports, Samsung has been convincing Apple into using the drive for the iPod and the MacBook Air. Samsung will also sell the USB drive in the Chinese market as a stand-alone drive.

Expect the Samsung 1.8″ 40GB version to be priced at $161, 60GB at $191, 80GB at $235 and 120GB at $293.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Vyke Communications has completed the alpha testing stage of its stand alone Symbian VoIP client for Symbian mobile phones. The Vyke Standalone Mobile VoIP client will allow users of Symbian phones to make VoIP calls directly from their handsets regardless of their mobile subscription or limitations imposed by their mobile operator.

Vyke has already established a beta test group and Vyke users can sign-up for the beta test at http://www.vyke.com/contact-us.jsf.

 “This beta release demonstrates that Vyke is on track with its product strategy and is continuing to position itself as the world’s leading provider of mobile VoIP and IP messaging solutions. It is important for Vyke to continuously deliver mobile-operator independent solutions to allow our customers to make effortless and cost saving calls from their mobile phones regardless of their subscriptions and/or their whereabouts!” said Jan C Berger, CMO of Vyke.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) has completed the 802.11r standard better known as “Fast Basic Service Set Transition”. The 802.11r is a standard that lets Wi-Fi devices roam quickly between wireless access points (WAP) and  improves the performance of VoIP on enterprise LANs.

Traditional 802.11 devices take around 100ms to roam from one access point to another. The latency time to re-establish is not good for applications like VoIP.

The new IEEE 802.11r standard will help improve Wi-Fi VoIP connectivity by allowing the network to establish a security and QoS state for the device at the new access point, before it roams between the two, so the transition can take place in less than 50ms - the standard required for voice roaming.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Dell has announced two new notebooks under the Vostro brand aimed at the business segment. They are the Vostro A860 and A840 notebooks which run on the same technical specification and the only difference is the size of their screen. The A860 comes with a 15.6-inch HD ready LCD while A840 has a 14.1-inch widescreen XGA LCD.

The notebooks sport an Intel Core Duo or Core 2 Duo processors, an upgradeable 1GB RAM, HDD support of up to 160GB for A860 and 120GB for A840, DVD combo or DVD burner, Wi-Fi, LAN and an optional Bluetooth. Users can choose Ubuntu Linux with an Office Suite or Windows Vista.

The A840 will come in late August while the A860 will be available in early September.

Popularity: 3% [?]